Newbie FOTL Question

[Waterbaby]

Hi there,

Great info on these pages! My husband and I are going to Universal and IOA for the first time July 3-8. We are so excited!!

Regarding FOTL access, silly question, but are the FOTL access areas clearly marked separate entrances? I would hate to go blundering along a long line of folks waiting to get in looking for the FOTL entry spot - feeling foolish.

Thank you!

 

[GeminiMom]

First off....Welcome Waterbaby! You are going to LOVE FOTL especially for the time you are going. The Express entrances are almost always clearly marked for most rides, but there are exceptions. For Dueling Dragons in IOA, you must enter to the left if you are facing the ride....past the lockers & up the exit area. At that point you will see the express sign. In Universal for Shrek 4D, the FOTL access starts near the entrance to the building & runs around the left of the building (as you are looking at it) if the line is alittle longer. Its not clearly marked & we had to ask a ride op about it. Also in US, when you enter the building for the Horror Makeup Show (a great show by the way) there are no lines per say, but they "herded" the regular line guests to the left & the FOTL & express guests to the right. For Shrek & the Horror Makeup Show, express guests are seated first. One thing I did notice is that early in the morning when the parks weren't as crowded, we would enter through the express entrance but were eventually just merged into the regular line. This happened on the Hulk one morning, later in the day the express line took a complete different route & came up to the platform in a separate area from the regular line....it was then that way for the remainder of our days in the park. There may be others I've forgotten, if so, maybe another poster can help me out here. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Waterbaby]

Thank you so much GeminiMom! I appreciate all the great info!

We are sooooooooo excited about this first trip. I have a feeling we'll be hooked. We hope that even during such a busy time (July 3-8) that we'll be able to leisurely enjoy the parks and our stay at the Portofino!

Thanks again!

 

[themepark]

Waterbaby, since you are staying onsite and have FOTL you will have no worries. Yes, the parks will be busy but your wait times will not be long. You really will be able to see and do everything at a leisurely pace. Just look for the Express entrances which are clearly marked for the most part. At most rides, there will be an attendant where you enter the line and you show them your room key and they will direct you to the Express Line. Like GeminiMom said, the exception to this is Dueling Dragons.

PBH is beautiful! I haven't stayed there but have visited and used the pool a couple of times while staying at RPR. I would love to hear about your stay when you return!

 

[Waterbaby]

Thanks, themepark! Not only is our first trip, but a special occassion too, our anniversary, so we're hoping our stay at Portofino will be extra special.

I'll be sure to write a trip report when I get back. I think it's a nice payback for all the help provided on this board!

 

[rangebob]

Just so you know you won't be looking for a sign that says FOTL, it is actually Universal Express.

 

[Motherfletcher]

The hotel express for Shrek is now right at the door and the queue goes on the Mummy side of the building (where you take a photo with Shrek).

I'm at PBH now and one suggestion I would make is to go to Pterandon Flyers when IOA opens. We have done that twice in the last few days and were able to re-ride both times. This is the only ride you can't express. And after a 15 minute queue builds they won't allow adults without small children.

 

[Sami]

Wow FOTL sounds great! This is my third time at US/IOA but my first time staying on site! Thanks for all the info.